St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-04-11
THE DIAMOND FIELD.
A Look at the Northwestern League Just
Before the Opening of the Sea-
son of 1887.
Nearly Every City in the League Ready to
Place Its Money on the Home
Team.
Secretary Qufn's Record--The ST.
Paul Team at Practice--Eau
CIaire's Tossers.
Chicagoans Going Back on the Cham
pions--A Row at Sunday
Game.

All the members of the Northwestern
league teams are expected to report to
their managers not later than April Is, so
at the close of the present week the players
will practically all be ready to don their
uniforms. Some of the teams have already
been practicing. Des Moines has done
more work than any of its coming COM
petitors, having played a month in the
South with the Mobile New Orleans. Mem
phis, St. Louis and Chicago clubs. 1t has
also met two or three of the Western league
clubs. and will put in the next two weeks
with them. The Duluth club is in Ohio,
where it will cross bats with two or three
teams of the Ohio state league and also
with the Cleveland American association
team. The Minneapolis players have been
practcng on their home grounds, and will
play their first game ut WinOna on Friday
st. Paurs men have just returned from
Usage. Ia, where they played their open
ing game on Friday, and will practice
steadily at the West Side park until week
from to morrow, when they will undertake
to keep the DetroitS from scoring double
figures. The four Badger teams are quietly
getting ready for the contest and on the
30th day OF April the Northwestern league
will set the ball rolling with the best array
of base balliStS outside of the National
league and American association. At this
time. when so little is known about the
ACTUAL STRENGTH
If the various teams from the fact that
very large percentage of the players are
new to the league, nothing being certain
except that the men are individually strong,
it is amusing to note the great diversity of
views as to the comparative standing of the
CLUBS. During the past week the sporting
editor of the CLIQUE has read the papers of
the eight league towns to discover their
views OF the matter. In Milwaukee the
opinion prevails that the clubs will close
the season in the following order: Mil
waukee, Oshkosh, st. Paul, Duluth, Min
neapoliS Eau Claire, Des MoineS, La
Crosse. A special in this issue of the
GLOBE indicates that Eau Claire people
would place the clubs in about this order:
Eau Claire, Milwaukee. ST. Paul. Mime
apoliS. Oshkosh. DeS Moines Duluth. La
Crosse. At Duluth the papers all take
slightly different view of the situation.
They are, however. unanimous in placing
Duluth on top. A prominent sporting man
of the Zenith City was interviewed in St.
Paul yesterday, and placed the teams thus:
Duluth, Oshkosh, st. Paul, Minneapolis,
Milwaukee, Eau CIsTe Des Moines, La
Crosse. The sporting people of Oshkosh
know who will win the pe'..snt, and they
are not at all backward in expressing them
selves. This is the way they look at
it: Oshkosh, st. Paul, Milwaukee, NJ in
neapolis, Duluth, Eau Claire. Des Moines,
La Crosse. This order is
PRETTY NEARLY SATISFACTORY
to ST. Paul lovers of the game. They
would place the teams thus: ST. Paul.
Oshkosh, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Duluth,
Eau Claire. Des Moines La Crosse. Man
ager Foster is already pretty certain that
his Minneapolis team will be in front next
October. He refuses to hazard guess on
the other teams, however. 1t is learned
from another source that members of the
Flour City team expect the struggle to
close about thus; Minneapolis Milwaukee,
Oshkosh, St. Paul. Eau Claire, Duluth,
Des Moines, La Crosse. 1t is understood
DeS Moines wants the championship flag.
but does not expect to win it. The Iowans
will be satisfied with second place this
time. In their calculations they place Mil
waukee first, lDes Moines second. Eau
Claire third Oshkosh fourth, st. Paul
fifth. Minneapolis sixth, Duluth seventh
and La Crosse last. La Crosse enthusiasts
are haZarding no gueSSeS. They say they
know nothing about it, SO they are not say
ing word, but they are awfully glad they
are to have an opportunity to see good ball
playing. Manager Harrington SAYS: eve
are letting the other clubs do the blowing
When the season opens we expect to do
some playing. and if some of these people
who talk so loud aren't willing to 90 and
hide themselves before the 4th of July,
shall be very much surprised" This is the
situation on the verge of the seasons OPEN
ing. Everybody is hopeful, and the skies
are very bright for the success of the league.
One thing is certain: The contest will be a
magnificent one and the club that wins
the pennant will have to fight hard for its
laurels.